


oopsie (my bad)

by ah_choo (lieagain)



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: (but not much), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Demons, Blood, Fluff and Humor, Human!Jihoon, M/M, demon!Mingyu, i don't know shit about demons please don't try this at home, non-explicit sex scene?, uni/college struggles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:21:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24319492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lieagain/pseuds/ah_choo
Summary: "You? A demon? Tutoring me? Maybe you mispronounced torturing?""Well, if you're into that—"or, the one in which jihoonaccidentallysummons a demon, and it doesn't go like anyone would expect.
Relationships: Kim Mingyu/Lee Jihoon | Woozi
Comments: 9
Kudos: 151





	oopsie (my bad)

**Author's Note:**

> i started writing this fic in october, it was meant to be a 1k short story for halloween, but the more I wrote, the more had to be written, so it took a few months, but it's finally done! it is also largely based on my experience with classical latin classes at uni, though I didn't manage to summon a sexy demon myself :( it is not beta-read, so please excuse any mistakes. i will deal with them in a few days, I promise.
> 
> big thanks to dominik, who taught me a little about demons, and to emi and lisa, who helped me when I was stuck. 
> 
> named after nature's song by the same title (because I am shit at naming fics)
> 
> hope you enjoy!

Every time Jihoon has to study for his Classical Latin class, he regrets. He regrets trusting Wonwoo, who said he took it last year and it was  _ cool _ , he regrets signing up for it and he regrets not signing out of it sooner, because now he has to memorize the fifth declension and when do you use it, and it’s definitely too much.  _ Especially  _ if he still doesn’t really know when you’re actually supposed to use each case in the first place.

When he’s memorized all the endings in order, he puts that aside to get to it later, and he opens his notebook to start with the vocabulary. It’s all over the place and he doesn’t know how is it supposed to be useful, since they’re now reading some ancient comedy about a pot full of gold, ghosts and paranoid main character who thinks everyone’s a thief. The only thing that could be a little bit useful is that one insult,  _ fungus putidus _ , but he probably won’t even use it in real life.

He wants to kill Wonwoo. That  _ fungus putidus _ .

At some point, when he’s mumbling the words to himself, though being sure his pronunciation is off, because the teacher is always correcting him and he’s never able to get that right, something drips on his notes, making him jump a little in his skin.

A drop of blood. 

He scrambles up to get the tissues, and wonders if he should laugh or cry at the fact that he's got a freaking nosebleed while studying. He should probably show it to the teacher to prove that he’s working really hard, it’s just that his brain rejects everything Latin-related.

Jihoon stuffs one tissue into his nose and with the second he pats softly the paper to get the blood off of it, trying to not rub it in and not make a bigger mess. 

He takes a sip of his already cold, disgusting three-in-one coffee mix, and gets back to work, though he has difficulties with focusing back on the vocabulary. He’s itching to take out his phone and check his social media, but the Forest app tells him  _ Stop phubbing! _ , because there’s still fifteen minutes left, and he really doesn’t want to kill that poor tree, he did it too many times already.

He’s reading the words louder now, hoping it will help him with focusing, but hearing himself makes him cringe. Still, better practice now than be embarrassed in class, right?

Suddenly, there’s a smell of something burning. He frowns, looking up at the speaker located above the door to his room. There would be an alarm if there was a fire in the dorm, so why isn’t it on yet? Is it broken again? Well, maybe it’s just his next-door neighbor, that Chinese guy who for some reason didn’t get caught for bringing a hotdog machine to the dorm, when it’s strictly against the rules. He looks back to his notes and-

Jihoon drops the notebook on the floor, not quite believing - because  _ this  _ is what’s burning.

It looks like it started where his blood drop landed, and it’s quickly spreading, forming a circle on the floor. Half mesmerized, half terrified, he wonders why the smoke detectors aren’t going off, and he whispers a quiet  _ fuck _ , before the flames shoot up to the ceiling, and he has to cover his eyes because of their brightness and step back from the heat.  _ Damn, what is this notebook made of? _ , he wonders briefly.

As suddenly as it started, it ends. He opens his eyes, bringing his hand down, and blinks a few times.

There’s a man standing in front of him, right in the place where his notebook was burning a few seconds ago. He’s tall and lean, dressed in all leather, big boots on his feet, a pitchfork in his hand. He smiles, all-black eyes squinting in delight.

“Hello, mortal. Why did you summon me?”

The last thing Jihoon notices before blacking out is his snake-like split tongue.

“Hey, little guy, wake up! Say something!” A concerned voice almost yells at him.

“I’m not little,” he mumbles. His head feels heavy, and there are cold fingers brushing his hair out of his eyes. He blinks, opening them, and he sees a face above him. A very handsome face, devilishly so, decorated with shining piercings here and there, shiny black hair modeled so carefully not a strand is out of place. He also realizes his head is laying on the stranger’s thigh. 

Jihoon sits up quickly, probably  _ too  _ quickly, since his head starts spinning, and there are two hands on his shoulders supporting him.

“Fuck, are you okay? I thought I scared you to death, I’m so sorry!”

“Who are you?” Jihoon asks, instead of answering. The stranger looks surprised.

“Uh… A demon? You summoned me, didn’t you?”

“The fuck? No, I didn’t.” Jihoon frowns. Demon mimics him.

“But you did? There was an incantation, well, very short but still, and blood and flower offering, so I got brought here.”

Jihoon’s eyes land on the notebook, still on the ground and looking fine, like if it wasn’t burning a few minutes ago. The bloodstain dried already and it’s just dark brown. He looks up, at the small bouquet of wildflowers in an old soju bottle, he bought them from an old lady selling them by the subway exit – it was cold and he felt bad for her. Damn. Did he accidentally summon a demon… with his terrible Latin pronunciation? A big sigh escapes his mouth and he rubs his face, exhausted, but also a little bit amused.

“I didn’t do it deliberately,” he tells the demon. “Sorry. You can go back to hell, or- or wherever you came from.” Jihoon picks up the notebook and closes it, then scrambles up to his feet. Damn, that floor is really dirty… he doesn’t remember when was the last time when he vacuumed. 

“But I can’t,” the demon says, getting up as well. He’s towering above Jihoon, and the boy has to crane his neck to look him in the pitch-black eye. It’s kind of terrifying as if he was staring into nothingness. He breaks eye contact and shakes his head.

“Why can’t you?” Jihoon asks, sitting back in his chair. He finally takes out the tissue he stuffed earlier into his nose. Fortunately, the nosebleed seems to stop by now. The demon makes himself comfortable by sitting on Jihoon’s bed, bringing the pitchfork, discarded on the floor before, carefully onto his knees.

“Well, I got summoned, so I have to fulfill the order you summoned me for.”

“But I did it by accident! I didn’t have any purpose! I’m just shit at Latin!”

The demon blinks once before he bursts into laughter for a brief while. Then he sizes him up.

“I can help you with that.”

“What?” Jihoon whips his head to look at the demon. 

“With studying La- no, nevermind.” He shakes his head. “Just order me to do anything and I’ll do it for you. Do you want to kill someone?”

Jihoon blinks.

“No?”

“You hesitated,” demon points out.

“No, just…” Jihoon hides his face in his hands, exhausted. “Just leave, demon.”

“But I can’t!” He whines. “Also, my name is Mingyu.”

“Okay, Mingyu.” Jihoon rolls his eyes. That name doesn't sound very… demon-y. Sounds just perfectly normal. Korean. “Leave me alone. Does that count as an order?”

Mingyu presses his lips into a straight line and shakes his head slowly.

“I don’t want to kill anybody!” 

"Please!" Mingyu pouts, putting his hands on the edge of the bed and leaning forward to Jihoon. "I'm sure you ever thought about killing somebody!"

The demon is looking at him with… puppy eyes? 

"Yeah, I guess I had such thought once or twice, but…"

"Who is it?" Mingyu asks excitedly. Jihoon sighs.

"It wasn't ever serious!"

"So maybe you want at least something happen to them? Broken leg? Robbery?"

Jihoon thinks about people he's ever "wished" for being dead: his maths teacher in high school, that very rude lady at the post office, and probably every single one of his friends when they annoyed him. Maybe Soonyoung more often than others. But the thought of something,  _ anything  _ bad happening to them makes him shiver. It wasn't serious. It was just frustration, he guesses.

"No, I won't cause harm to anybody," he says with determination. Mingyu whines like a kicked puppy, but the boy just turns back to his desk and picks up his phone.  _ Your tree has grown!  _ the notification informs him. He collects the coins, and clicks on Kakao app icon to read whatever he missed in one of his group chats.

"You're going to ignore me?" Mingyu asks.

"Yes, until you go away."

"Great!" The bed creaks, and Jihoon looks at the demon to see him lying there, his feet almost dangling off the edge. "Then I'm not gonna leave you alone, ever."

"Even in the bathroom?"

Mingyu raises himself on his elbows and moves his brows with a mischievous smirk.

"What, you want me to shower with you?"

Jihoon feels his cheeks reddening, so he faces away from the demon.

"No."

"Aw, what a pity. Tell me when you change your mind."

Jihoon throws a rubber, thing he had the closest to him, at Mingyu. The surprised "ow" is quite satisfactory.

"No, pervert."

"You're mean," the demon whines."I like you," he adds however after a second.

Jihoon sighs and looks back to his phone. It's going to be a hard time.

"You can't go to class with me!" Jihoon protests.

"I literally can't leave your side," Mingyu explains again, sounding tired. After Jihoon kicked him out, rather violently, of his bed, he had to sleep on the floor. Jihoon did not give him any pillow or comforter, guessing he won't be sleeping at all, so Mingyu just took the pile of clothes that was laying on Jihoon's nightstand (not completely dirty, but worn once or twice and not dirty enough to throw them into the laundry yet) and used it as a pillow. Judging by his current appearance he did not have a good sleep though.

"Then can't you just wait outside?"

"I can," he admits reluctantly. "But I'll be bored!" He adds quickly before Jihoon can say anything. The boy just groans in frustration.

"Read a book! Solve sudoku! Or do some demon-y things. No, not on my order," he remarks. "No killing. No harming."

"You're no fun."

Jihoon sighs.

"Let's go, I can't be late."

To say Mingyu draws attention to them is an understatement. His height would be enough if he was human, but there's also his clothing, piercings, black nails and sunglasses sitting on his nose to hide his eyes. Also, in the daylight Jihoon sees how insanely good looking the demon is. It feels like he's walking through the campus with an idol who escaped from a fansign. He feels like a homeless man beside him in his hoodie, jogging pants, and slides. At least he convinced him to leave the pitchfork at the dorm, so he won't scare anyone away (and alarm the security).

"Do  _ not _ talk to anyone. Do  _ not _ do anything suspicious. Just be quiet and follow me if you have to," Jihoon sets the rules on his way to class.

"Boooring."

"Don't care."

They make it to the right building without meeting anyone Jihoon knows, which he's thankful for, because he doesn't want to make up excuses trying to explain who this weird person tagging along with him is.

"Sit here,” he points to the bench close to his class. “And don't move for the next one and half hour."

Mingyu groans, but surprisingly obeys. Jihoon enters the class with relief, at least a little calmer.

Until Soonyoung comes.

"BRO HAVE YOU SEEN THAT GUY SITTING BY THIS CLASS?" his friend shouts as soon as he steps into the room. Everyone who's already in class turns their heads to look at him. Jesus.

"Keep quiet, Soonyoung."

"But he's so hot! And totally your type!" He says, still as excited, but fortunately a little quieter now, as he makes his way to sit beside his friend.

"I don't know what you're talking about." 

"Aw, maybe he wasn't there when you came here, what a pity. Maybe we'll see him on our way out."

"Yeah, maybe," Jihoon says, fiddling with his pen, praying quietly for the lecturer to come faster to save him. Unfortunately, something must have happened, because the woman who's usually on time is late today. And Soonyoung can't stop talking about Mingyu.

She finally comes and saves Jihoon, but he can't focus for the entirety of the lecture. And when they leave…

"That's him!" Soonyoung stage whispers, pointing a finger at Mingyu. "Your type, isn't he?"

Mingyu's eyes meet his and there's a smirk forming on his lips. Oh no.

"Hey Jihoon," he greets him, and the boy wants to disappear. "Your type, huh?"

"No, shut up." He turns to Soonyoung, who's looking at him in surprise. "No."

"I didn't say anything."

"Just no. Your next class is across the campus, better go before you're late."

"But-"

Jihoon glares at him.

"You're going to tell me  _ everything  _ later!" Soonyoung demands, but finally goes his way. Jihoon sighs and presses his fingers to his temples.

"I knew it was a bad idea." 

"Leaving me here? Yeah, I was bored out of my mind," Mingyu sighs with a roll of his eyes.

"No, bringing you here in the first place. I should just order you to do something so you can get lost."

"Aw, so heartless."

"Look who's talking."

"Excuse me," Mingyu pretends to be offended. "I do have a heart."

"Whatever." Jihoon starts walking to the exit, and Mingyu gets up from the bench to follow him.

"What class do you have now?"

"Free period. And then Latin, so I wanted to study in the library, but I suppose it won't be possible with your annoying ass."

"Probably not," Mingyu admits. "But I really can help you! We can sit somewhere and I'll tutor you."

Jihoon turns around and raises his brows.

"You? A demon?  _ Tutoring  _ me? Maybe you mispronounced  _ torturing _ ?"

"Well, if you're into that—"

Jihoon rolls his eyes. "There's a café close to the campus I really like, let's go there."

Despite everything, Mingyu turns out to be quite a good tutor - and a big fan of iced latte.  _ We don’t have it down there, you know _ , he explained, sipping on the beverage in the biggest possible size.  _ It’s too cold for it _ , Jihoon noticed with a cup of cinnamon cappuccino in his hands. It's autumn already, and the weather is getting colder day by day.  _ I’m always hot _ , Mingyu replied with a blink. Jihoon ignored him.

"And, in that sentence, for the object, you would use…?"

"Dativus?" Jihoon tries.

"Exactly!" Mingyu exclaims with a clap of his hands. He looks like he's having fun.

"You don't have much entertainment in hell I guess?" Jihoon asks, scribbling down a "dat." next to the word on his notes. He looks up at Mingyu, who shrugs nonchalantly.

"It's fun, but very repetitive. I like being on Earth, people always surprise me with something," he confesses. "Like with an accidental summoning, for example."

"Guess that doesn't happen a lot, huh?"

Mingyu shakes his head.

"How does that even work?" Jihoon asks, closing his notebook. "All this…" He flaps his hands around, looking for words, but then drops them on the table. "Demon stuff. What can you do besides killing?"

"A lot of things. But my specialty is vengeance, so to summon me specifically you had to think about it", he explains. Jihoon winces and says sorry to Wonwoo in his mind. But it is partially his fault, isn't it? "There are demons with other specialties, like healing for example."

"Healing?" Jihoon asks with surprise in his voice. Mingyu nods and smirks.

"You can't believe how many of these  _ miracles  _ when someone overcomes a serious illness is a demon's job, not God's."

"Wow." Jihoon puts his chin on his hand. "And how do people pay you?"

"Differs. Food and flower offerings are most common. And you have to like, pray to Satan."

“Hmm,” Jihoon pretends to think about it, and then shakes his head. "No, I don’t think I’m gonna do it. You really can't go away if I tell you I don't want your help?"

He can't see Mingyu's eyes behind the sunglasses, but from his expression he can say he's suddenly tense.

"Really."

"Then at least it's nice you're good at Latin," the boy sighs. "You’re sure I can't order you to tutor me for the rest of the semester? I can pay you in iced latte."

"Tempting," Mingyu says lowly. "Not sure if I can do it tho. But until you decide who you wanna kill, or whatever, I can become your tutor. One iced latte per lesson," he points out.

"One iced latte per lesson," Jihoon confirms and shakes demons' hand over the table. It's cold, maybe naturally so or maybe from holding a glass with his beverage, and it's dark skin tone and black sharp nails contrast a lot with Jihoon's pale and soft one. “We have a deal.”

Mingyu snickers.

“Yeah, we have a deal.”

  
  


Mingyu grabs attention wherever he goes. And, as he's following Jihoon everywhere, because apparently, he can’t leave his side, it makes people look at Jihoon too, which he’s not really comfortable with.

“Can’t you like… wear something else? Try to tone it down?” He asks Mingyu once. 

“I don’t…  _ have _ other clothes,” he says. “I don’t need them. I can become a snake if you want though?”

Jihoon imagines himself with a snake by his side and he winces.

“No, thanks?”

Mingyu shrugs and makes himself comfortable on Jihoon’s chair. The boy watches him silently, sitting cross-legged on his bed, a textbook in his hands and his reading glasses low on his nose. It’s weird how calm he is with the demon in his room. It's been four days since he accidentally summoned Mingyu.

“Hey, aren’t you uncomfortable when you’re sleeping on the floor?”

“Not really.” The demon fiddles with a pen he picked up from Jihoon’s desk. "I'm not human, remember? I don't really  _ sleep _ , at least not like you. It could be better, but you know." He shrugs.

"Oh, okay." Jihoon goes back to reading, but can't focus on the scientific terms and definitions. "Hey, maybe you're good at physics too?"

Mingyu laughs, head thrown back, sharp canines visible. With his eyes closed he doesn't even look like a some kind of supernatural being, just a handsome university student.

Jihoon slaps himself mentally and hides himself behind the book, ears reddening at the thought.  _ Yeah, Mingyu is hot, so what? You already know it, get yourself together! _

"Sorry I asked," he mumbles.

“What are you even studying?” Demon asks. “Latin? Physics? What’s your major?”

Jihoon shakes his head. “A nightmare,” he simply says.

“I’m sure you’re like, super good at everything,” Mingyu notices, matter of factly. 

“What are you talking about.” Jihoon rolls his eyes, but the compliment makes him feel nice for a second. He looks back to his book, but it turns out Mingyu isn’t done yet.

“You’re very hardworking. I can see you’ll get far in the future. In whatever you’re going to do,” he finishes and his eyes meet Jihoon’s. He looks at him with such certainty and faith, that the boy cannot help but look away in an attempt of trying to hide his blush.

Warmth settles in Jihoon’s chest, something similar to the sunbeams on a summer morning, and it stays with him, resurfacing whenever he looks back at the demon.

Huh.

***

"Are you gonna take Mingyu to my party?" Soonyoung asks one day. They were meant to have their daily Latin tutoring in the cafe, but Jihoon’s friend tagged along and their plans changed, eventually going to McDonald's. The color drains from Jihoon's face.

"Your party? Uh… When was it again? This Friday?" He asks, pretending not to remember, buying himself some time to think of an excuse. Of course, he can't.

“Thursday,” Soonyoung corrects. He’s one of the lucky people that doesn’t have classes on Friday, Jihoon remembers.

"Oooh I love parties," Mingyu chimes in from behind. "Let's go."

"Yeaaah!" Soonyoung high fives him. "Make sure Jihoon wears something nice."

"I'm always wearing something nice," Jihoon mumbles grumpily.

"Oversized t-shirts and slippers don't count," Soonyoung reminds with a smile, Jihoon sticking his tongue out at him. “Besides, your boyfriend always looks flawless so I’m sure he’ll be more than glad to help you.”

Jihoon rolls his eyes.

“How many times do I have to-” he starts. His friend interrupts him.

“Jihoon, you can be honest with me.” He puts a hand over his heart. “How many years we’ve been friends for? No need to hide from me.”

“Fine,” Jihoon sighs. “He’s a demon I actually summoned.”

Mingyu rises a brow with a confused smile. Soonyoung just laughs.

“Nice one. So take that demon of yours to my party. Bring alcohol.”

“You know I don’t drink.”

“Then bring cola, whatever. Hey, are you finished with those nuggets?”

***

“Aren’t you bored here with me?” Jihoon asks Mingyu on Thursday evening. The demon is looking through his wardrobe, having taken Soonyoung’s words very seriously. “It’s been like, two weeks already. Isn’t there any time limit on your rules? Like, you’re not getting anything from this anyway.” The boy stares at the ceiling, hands folded on his stomach. 

“No, you’re fun,” Mingyu says, his voice muffled as he’s buried in the closet. Jihoon’s head snaps to the side to look at him. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Mingyu looks up at him, black eyes not showing any emotions, but a slight smile tugging on the corners of his lips.

“I know I’m a demon, but killing and hurting people is not the only thing that’s fun for me. Actually getting to know a human is nice too. And iced latte. Also, you’ve made quite a progress with Latin and I have to admit I’m proud,” he says, hand on his chest. Jihoon’s cheeks flush and he throws a pillow at Mingyu. The demon catches it just before it hits his face, but it makes the clothes he had in his arms fall on the ground. Instead of throwing it back, he puts it delicately on the edge of the bed and pats it before he leaves to pick up the clothing from the floor.

Jihoon sighs, observing him.

“Are all the demons as nice as you?” He asks. Mingyu turns around, surprised expression on his face.

“You think I’m nice?” He sounds honestly astonished.

“Yeah?”

“Oh.” The demon turns around and busies himself with the clothes again. “Okay, I think I’m ready. Make some space.”

Jihoon sits up and moves to the head of the bed to leave the rest for Mingyu to spread out the outfits he chose. He places black ripped jeans, a white shirt he had tucked in his closet only for some formal occasions, and a t-shirt. The boy looks up with his brows raised.

“Are you serious?”

“Just try it. You’re gonna look like an idol. Go on.”

Jihoon sighs, but he takes the clothes to the bathroom to try them on. 

“I look like a clown,” he says as he enters the room back. Mingyu’s sitting on his bed, looking through one of Jihoon’s textbooks that were laying on the floor. 

“No, you look good.”

Warmth creeping up his neck, Jihoon shakes his head quickly.

“I’m not feeling it.”

Mingyu looks like he wants to say something more, but he decides to not speak up. Instead he goes back to the closet, rummaging through it for a while before he takes out a necktie. Jihoon chuckles.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“T-shirt off,” Mingyu just says. Reluctantly, Jihoon obliges, and throws it on the bed.

“I’m gonna look like… like an accountant or something.”

Mingyu shakes his head and stands in front of Jihoon. His fingers brush over the back of Jihoon’s neck, when he puts the tie around it, and he shivers.  _ It’s because his fingers are so cold _ , he tries to explain to himself. Jihoon keeps his eyes fixed on Mingyu’s hands tying the knot. When he adjusts it, so it looks loose but not in a bad way, Jihoon makes a mistake of looking up.

They’re closer than he's thought, his eyes on the level of Mingyu’s chin. The demon is biting his tongue and frowning, focusing on the tie, and Jihoon’s breath hitches in his throat. 

"Okay, that should be it," Mingyu says and looks up.

They make eye contact for less than three seconds, but it's enough to make Jihoon a blushing mess. He turns around quickly, hoping Mingyu won't notice how red he is. He doesn't even look properly at himself in the mirror before he says "Yeah it's good".

"What are you wearing though?" Jihoon asks Mingyu. The demon shrugs.

"The same as always."

"Won't people notice you're always wearing the same thing?" Jihoon muses, but catches himself also noticing it only now, and they have spent a significant amount of time with each other.

"They probably won't. Will be distracted by my face," he says with a wink.

_ No wonder _ , Jihoon thinks, but doesn't say it out loud.

"Are we going?" He asks instead.

"Sure."

***

Soonyoung’s party is… a Soonyoung’s party. A lot of people from his different friend groups, sitting in circles all over the flat and chatting, some random Melon playlist in the background, each room illuminated in different colors by the neon lights he installed some time ago instead of the normal ones. ( _ Can you like, study here now? _ , Jihoon asked after he saw it for the first time.  _ Bold of you to assume I studied before, _ Soonyoung said.)

It doesn't take long to find the host of the party, but it feels like forever when people are staring at them intensely. Jihoon is not used to so much attention being paid to him, and it makes him uncomfortable.

“Hoonie!” Soonyoung looks delighted. “You brought your date!” 

“He’s not my date,” Jihoon clarifies quickly. 

“Uh-huh, careful, I might actually believe you.” His friend rolls his eyes. “Make yourself at home,” he tells Mingyu. “Oh! And that’s for you,” Soonyoung turns to open the refrigerator and takes out one can of beer. He pushes it into Jihoon’s hands. “You look nervous. Relax. Talk to people.” Suddenly someone calls Soonyoung from another room.

“I’m gonna check what they want from me,” he says, and then pats Jihoon on his shoulder. “Have fun!”

As he leaves the kitchen, Jihoon looks at the open can in his hand. Maybe his friend is right, and he should just simply relax? He takes a sip of the beer and then winces immediately after. No, it’s still bitter and disgusting as always.

He looks up in surprise when a hand takes the cold can and replaces it with a glass of orange juice. Mingyu just winks and takes a sip from the can. Jihoon’s cheeks are burning red.

They end up sitting with Wonwoo and his friends. Minghao, that super artsy guy Wonwoo’s got a crush on, talks animatedly with Mingyu, because apparently the demon is also an expert on renaissance art. Jihoon has no idea what is he talking about, because art has never been one of his interests and he forgot almost everything he learned at school as soon as he was done with his exams, but the way Mingyu is talking animatedly, as if he knew all of these artists personally and saw all of their creations with his own two eyes - because maybe he did, who knows? - is so mesmerising to him, that he could listen to him all night long.

After a while Jihoon notices that maybe, he isn’t the only one who thinks that, because all eyes are following Mingyu, as if he cast a spell on them all. There’s something burning in Jihoon’s chest, and he hates to admit to jealousy, because there’s no reason for him to feel jealous. There’s nothing between them, besides the stupid connection he made while accidentally summoning the demon. He has no right to feel possessive over him.

Yet there he is, his hand almost instinctively planting itself on Mingyu’s lower back. He can feel Mingyu’s muscles tense, and he actually stutters as he’s speaking. It awakes some unnamed emotion inside of Jihoon.

The tension between the two of them seems to thicken with every passing minute, until Soonyoung doesn’t stumble into the room, starting to yell some nonsense, and it dissipates. 

Jihoon doesn’t take his hand back.

They say their goodbyes pretty early; it’s Thursday, and even if most people don’t have class on Fridays, Jihoon is one of the few that has, and it’s also a good excuse for not staying long when his social batteries run out. There’s also still a small flame burning in his chest, that couldn’t be put down even by Soonyoung’s stupid stories.

“It’s been so long since I’ve been in human’s company,” Mingyu sighs with a slight smile as they’re walking back to the campus. The night is chilly on the verge of plain cold, as the autumn progresses, and Jihoon hugs himself, tugging his jacket tightly around himself.

“Do I not count?” He asks, half-jokingly.

“Hmm,” Mingyu pretends to think about it, but shakes his head shortly after. “You’re different, you know.”

Jihoon doesn’t.

“Wow, I’m such a special snowflake,” he says with a roll of his eyes.

Mingyu makes a very confused expression, and it’s so funny that Jihoon can’t help but laugh really loud. Demon looks puzzled, but he also laughs, because Jihoon’s laugh is contagious.

They arrive at the campus in good moods. As always no one bats an eye at Mingyu going in with Jihoon, even if non-residents are prohibited from entering the dorms. However the ride in the elevator suddenly makes the mood shift. The tenseness from before is back, and by the time they arrive at Jihoon’s room it gets mixed with nervousness.

The doors close and tension gets even thicker. Jihoon’s hands gets clammy, his brain going haywire trying to decide what to do for it to disappear. With slightly trembling hands he’s trying to untie his tie, which is not going well.

There are fingers coming into his vision, and Mingyu swats his palms away to help him. 

_ Do not raise your head, do not raise your head _ , Jihoon repeats to himself, but then he does, and when he meets Mingyu’s eyes not a second passes before their lips collide.

The kiss takes Jihoon's breath away, quite literally, and when he pulls away to inhale, Mingyu has the audacity to smirk. It only adds to his devilish look.

"Oh shut up," Jihoon groans.

"I haven't even say anything."

"You didn't have to." The boy stands on his tiptoes and putting his hand on Mingyu's neck, he makes him lean for a kiss again. Gripping the half undone tie with one hand, Mingyu brings Jihoon closer by his waist with the other. His hand feels cold through the fabric, which makes the boy shiver. Angling his head, Mingyu opens Jihoon's mouth, entering it with his split tongue, and there's so many new experiences it feels like his head is spinning.

It doesn't take them long to move to Jihoon's narrow bed, losing some parts of clothing in the process. When boxer briefs are the last thing to remove, Mingyu stops with a finger hooked over the elastic. 

"Is that okay?"

Jihoon doesn't seem to understand what is he asking about. "What?"

Mingyu raises his head up and makes eye contact with him.

"This. Sex. Is it okay?"

"Can't you see?"

"Jihoon-"

"Yes, continue,  _ please _ ," he almost whines, and hearing his own voice makes him blush. He groans, hiding his face with his forearm.

Mingyu doesn't need any more confirmation.

Jihoon wonders how is it possible that his whole body is burning, when Mingyu's hands are so cold. Every touch leaves a trail of fire on his skin, and every lick of his tongue is making him lose his sanity a little bit more out of pleasure.

Kissing from his chest downwards, then thighs, and when it seems like he can't endure it more, Mingyu finally takes him into his mouth, and the sensation of his snake-like tongue is definitely too much.

***

The morning is warm. Sunlight wakes Jihoon up, and he turns to lay on his belly, face smushed into the pillow to catch a little bit more sleep, because it seems to early to wake up.

Suddenly he startles, remembering it's not Saturday, it's  _ Friday _ , he hurriedly looking for his phone. It's not under his pillow, where he normally puts it, and he finds it on the floor, peeking from under his jeans.

Checking the hour he realizes two things. One, he forgot to set an alarm, but he managed to wake up early enough to not be late for class. Two, there's no trace of Mingyu.

No clothes on the floor. No pitchfork leaning in the corner of the room. No demon willing to teach him Latin in exchange for iced latte. No demon willing to kiss him breathless.

Jihoon feels slight burning sensation under his skin when he thinks about last night.

He takes a quick cold shower and puts on some fresh clothes. He’d lie if he said that he didn’t feel disappointed after noticing Mingyu was gone; he got used to another presence in his room. He tried looking for a note, or maybe some messaged burned onto his desk, but there was nothing; as if Mingyu has never existed.

But he did, and the way Jihoon’s muscles ache - and his heart squeezes with disbelief and longing - is the proof.

Not in a mood for eating, he skips breakfast and goes straight to class, telling himself that thinking about Mingyu won’t bring him back. Maybe he had a reason to leave? Also, it was Jihoon who first wanted him gone. Maybe it will be better this way. It will prevent him from falling for a demon.

But it’s an extremely hard thing to do.

_ Just order me to do anything and I’ll do it for you. _

Jihoon suddenly remembers the words Mingyu told him when he first summoned him. His cheeks start burning when last night comes to his mind. Could it be…?

Could it be that him almost  _ begging _ Mingyu to continue when he stopped counted as an order? And he fulfilled his wish, so now he’s gone?

Jihoon puts his head on the desk and groans, covering it with his hands. 

It’s his fault.

...or maybe it isn't?

Wasn't it Mingyu who wanted to ask for confirmation first? What if that was his plan to finally be released from having to stick by Jihoon's side?

"I'm starting to worry about you," Soonyoung says, poking Jihoon's arm with his pencil. "Tell me it's just something bad you ate for breakfast."

It's Monday, and Jihoon couldn't stop thinking about Mingyu. Refusing to admit he fell deep, he's suffering alone.

"By the way, where's your boyfriend?"

Jihoon groans.

"Not my boyfriend."

"But you wish he was."

Jihoon groans again, and it's enough for Soonyoung.

"Oh my god, are you down because of him? Do I beat him up? Or…"

"You can't. He disappeared."

Soonyoung frowns. "How?"

"I don't know!" Jihoon lets out an exasperated sigh. "Told you he's a demon. He just disappeared without a trace."

His friend looks like he wants to laugh at him, but seeing Jihoon's serious expression he cocks his head to the side in a curious expression.

"Wait, really?"

Jihoon sighs again.

"Yes." He knows Soonyoung may think if him as crazy, but he doesn't care anymore. It's just tiring. At first he may not want to admit it, even to himself, but he misses Mingyu. He misses him to the point of not being able to sleep properly, analyzing everything over and over in his head, trying to find a reason - in himself, or in anything else - that made Mingyu leave so stereotypically after sex.

"So, why not try summoning him again?"

Jihoon blinks. He didn’t think his friend would actually believe him.  _ And _ have a point.

"That… hasn't occured to me."

This is why the same night after class - too soon for Jihoon, but Soonyoung is too eager to try and check if what Jihoon said is  _ really  _ true - they sit in Soonyoung's room, checking once again if they have everything.

Candle - check. A needle to draw blood - check. Jihoon’s Latin notes he was reading back then - check. Flowers - well, these aren’t exactly the same as before, because Jihoon is not good with flowers, but these are also small and blue so, hopefully, check.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Soonyoung says, giggling. Jihoon can see he’s not believing him, but he doesn’t really care. He only hopes it works, otherwise his friend will make fun of him forever. 

“Shut up and just do it.” Jihoon extends his palm. Soonyoung takes it carefully and pricks his middle finger with the needle before squeezing it lightly, so a drop of blood appears on it. Jihoon makes it drop on his notebook. When he moves on to reading, Soonyoung bursts out with laughter. His ears get red quickly, slightly ashamed with what he’s doing, but he finishes the page.

Nothing happens.

“That’s it?”

JIhoon frowns at his friend’s question. Did he read the wrong thing? Or maybe his pronunciation got so good thanks to the lessons with Mingyu that it doesn’t work anymore?

“No, that was… I’m sure I did all the same as before.”

“Maybe try reading again?” Soonyoung suggests, but doesn’t look convinced himself. Jihoon shrugs - he can do it as well. So he reads the first paragraph again-

Notebook catches fire, a fiery circle appears on the floor where Jihoon drops it and a voice speaks.

“Damn, yall humans are impatient as  _ fuck _ , just let me finish my job first.”

It’s… not Mingyu. Definitely not Mingyu. Jihoon glances at Soonyoung, who suddenly became as pale as his bedsheets, and is now blindly reaching for the tiger plushie that’s tucked by the pillow. When he looks back at the fire, the flames are slowly dying down, revealing a demon with slightly longer blonde hair, dressed similarly to Mingyu, carrying somehow a little more sophisticated pitchfork with him. His eyes are also fully black, but the tongue that darts out to lick his dry lips is not split, but pointy. His face is delicate, looking almost angelic - but who are demons if not fallen angels?

“I think we made a mistake,” Jihoon says. The demon crosses his arms on his chest and looks at them with annoyance.

“I hate it when you kids look up some demonology on the internet for fun and don’t take this seriously. You know how annoying it is? You try to do your job but  _ nooo _ , some little fucks decide to summon you without any reason. Try to think about others, hm?”

Jihoon blinks at the demon’s rant, speechless.

“Okay, if that was everything, I’m just gonna…”

“No,” the boy interrupts him quickly. “We, uh. Tried to summon Mingyu.”

It’s time for the demon to blink.

“Who?”

“Mingyu, very tall, dark skin, nice smile, always looked at Jihoon with heart eyes…” Soonyoung says, and before Jihoon can say anything the demon bursts out with laughter. He actually has to calm himself down because he can’t take his breath, and there are tears forming in the corners of his eyes. 

Two boys are looking at him with confusion.

“Damn, you two are so funny,” the demon says, wiping his eyes. “The boys will have so much fun when I’ll tell them.” And then he disappears in a cloud of black smoke.

Jihoon and Soonyoung look at each other, the latter hugging his tiger plushie tightly.

“Do you think he’ll tell Mingyu we tried to summon him?” Jihoon asks with uncertainty in his voice.

“Oh boy,” Soonyoung sighs. “He’s gonna tell the entire hell.”

***

The next few days are weirdly normal. Nothing out of ordinary happens - besides Jihoon getting a full score on his weekly Latin quiz. It’s like nothing ever happened, like Mingyu hasn’t been following him for the last weeks just to disappear after having sex with him, like some another demon didn’t make fun of them for trying to summon him.

That’s why Jihoon literally stops when he notices Mingyu on the campus. Some other students bump into him, but he cannot physically move.

Mingyu is sitting on a bench, long legs outstretched in front of him, arms with impressive bicepses crossed over his chest, sunglasses sitting on his nose as his face is turned up as if he was sunbathing. Some students are glancing at him and whispering as they pass by.

It takes a few minutes for Mingyu to look at the people coming in and out of the building, but he notices Jihoon right away. His face lights up, honest smile showcasing his sharp canines, and he waves shortly at him.

Jihoon’s legs work separately from his brain, because they start walking into the direction of the bench, while his brain still has to recover from the shock. When he stops in front of Mingyu, the smile tugs at the corners of his lips.

“Hi,” he says, suddenly sounding somehow breathless. “Want to get some coffee?”

“You don’t have to ask twice,” the demon says, gets up and leads the way.

They sit at their usual table, Jihoon warming his hands on his cappuccino cup, and Mingyu’s sipping on his iced latte.

“I guess we need to talk,” Mingyu finally says. Jihoon nods; he almost forgot he was angry at him.

“We do. Why did you leave so suddenly?” He gets straight to the point. “I mean - was it a request? What did I say back then? That’s why you had to leave? Because you fulfilled my wish or whatever?”

Mingyu looks at him for a few seconds in confusion, then chuckling awkwardly and looking down at his coffee. He stirs it slowly with the straw.

“Well. I need to tell you that I, uh, lied.”

Jihoon frowns. He shouldn’t be surprised though; he knew Mingyu is a demon. Isn’t lying one of their specialties? He still cannot help feeling slightly hurt.

“But what about exactly?”

“I… it’s not like I  _ have  _ to stick around until you request me to do something.” He looks apologetic, almost shy when he scratches his neck. “I said that because I thought it would be funny to annoy you a little.”

“Annoy me?”

“At first! B-but then it turned out you’re really cool! And you promised me to buy me coffee for those Latin lessons and we kinda became close so… I had an excuse to stay.”

Jihoon feels himself blushing, so he picks up his cup and takes a sip to cover his face. When he lowers it, he can see Mingyu still stirring his coffee, as if he was embarrassed by what he said. A creature from hell. Embarrassed.

“So why did you leave then?” He asks. And then, a little bit quieter. “Was I not good?”

“No!” Mingyu raises his head so fast the sunglasses slide slightly from his nose. “No, it turned out I had some other duties and they couldn’t wait. I was meant to get back as soon as possible, but it took longer than I supposed.”

Jihoon nods. There’s a weight lifted from his shoulders.

“But I was a little confused when I got back today and Jeonghan told me, quote, my loverboy is waiting for me.” He makes quotation marks with his fingers, and the boy feels himself getting even more red. He didn’t think it was possible.

“Oh,” he stutters. “I mean… yeah, we tried to summon you but it didn’t work as planned so…”

“Wait.” Mingyu frowns. “You tried to summon me?”

“Yeah, didn’t your friend tell you that?”

“Well, I got here as soon as he said that so I guess he didn’t have an opportunity to do this…”

Jihoon shakes his head with a slight smile and looks down at his coffee, heart-shaped latte art turned into a white blob now. The smile disappears from his lips a moment later.

“What are we doing exactly right now, Mingyu?” He asks as he looks straight at him. Mingyu’s expression turns a little more serious.

“Confessing?” The demon asks, taking Jihoon aback.

“I- this- I mean-” he stutters, and then sighs to calm himself down a little. “How is it supposed to work?”

Mingyu shrugs. After a while he takes Jihoon’s hand into his. It always mesmerizes the boy, how their palms can align so well, the size almost identical, but Jihoon’s hands are more slender and Mingyu’s wider, making them seem bigger.

“Jihoon, I know you might be worried, but can you please not think too much about it? Let’s just… let it float. I like you. Spending time with you. Going to parties with you. Teaching you. Kissing you. Can we just keep it like this? For now?”

Something heavy is still lingering in Jihoon’s heart, but he lets himself ignore it and feel only relief and warmth while looking at the demon sitting in front of him. He lets himself smile and squeeze Mingyu’s hand.

“Okay,” he simply says. 

The smile returns to Mingyu’s face and he’s quick to lean over the table to peck Jihoon on his mouth. Unfortunately, when he’s sitting back, the straw catches on his clothes and he brings the glass down, coffee and ice cubes spilling all over the table and him.

Jihoon laughs loudly, having to hold his stomach at the sight of utter confusion on Mingyu’s face.

Maybe the demon is right. Maybe they should just enjoy what they have now, and leave the worries for later, however serious they are.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> as always you can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/yiwoozi) if you wanna talk about jigyu or something (i basically live there lol)


End file.
